TASS: Scientists from Altai State University together with colleagues from Kazakhstan found the grave of a Turkic warrior in Altai. Photo report

Russian and Kazakh archaeologists have established the location of the burial place of the Turkic warrior Ak-Kyun, who lived in Altai in the 8th century, which was lost after excavations in 1935. Scientists have included the exact location of the grave on the map of monuments of Turkic times in the Kurai and Chui steppes, as TASS reports.

During the international archaeological expedition of the scientific and educational center for Altaic and Turkic studies “The Greater Altai”, scientists from Russia and Kazakhstan established the exact location and mapped monuments of the Turkic era in the Kurai and Chui steppes. Among them is the burial of the noble Turk Ak-Kyun, first discovered in 1935. The warrior Ak-Kyun lived in Altai in the 8th century.

The location of the warrior's grave was lost after excavations took place in 1935. This was affected by the proximity of burial mounds from the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages in one burial complex, as well as inaccurate documentation of the 20th century and changes in the landscape. It was found out as part of an international archaeological expedition from the series “The Greater Altai – Turkic Heritage.” It was attended by scientists from Altai and Kemerovo State Universities, the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archeology named after A. Kh. Margulan and Toraigyrov University of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

During excavations in 1935, various objects were found in the grave, including a belt with silver plaques and the inscription: “This is Mr. Ak-Kyun’s sash.” Subsequently, an anthropological reconstruction was made from the skull of the buried man, which is now kept in the Altai State Museum of Local Lore.

“The main task of the expedition was to clarify the geographical coordinates and composition of the already studied monuments, to take photographs of objects in order to put them on a map and include them in the catalog of Turkic monuments, which is published by the scientific and educational center of Altai State University “The Greater Altai,” said Sergei Vasyutin, professor from Kemerovo State University.

The findings made it possible to clarify several features of the typography of mounds and enclosures of the Turkic period in individual burial complexes in relation to objects of other eras, as well as to record a number of settlement objects.